Israeli extremists storming IDF bases are vigilantes – The Forward

A man adjusts his yarmulke as right-wing Israelis demonstrate at the Sde Teiman military base against the detention for questioning of military reservists suspected of sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner. Photo by Menahem Kahana/Getty Images

Contributing columnist
Sruli fruits
July 30, 2024

The crowd of extremist, far-right Israelis who stormed two Israeli Defense Force bases yesterday in protest of an IDF investigation into soldiers accused of assaulting a Palestinian terror suspect, suffer from a terrible illusion: that they are Israel’s greatest patriots.

But instead of supporting Israel, their vigilantism threatens to destroy the country.

On Monday, military police arrested nine IDF soldiers on suspicion of participating in the sexual abuse of a Palestinian terror suspect, who allegedly “serious injury to his anusat the Sde Teiman base in the Negev, which served as a detention center during the war between Israel and Hamas.

Investigating soldiers who violate the military code is an essential function of a government that serves the people; it reinforces the state’s own commitment to its own morality. But for a certain group of far-right Israelis, the idea of ​​investigating the behavior of Israeli soldiers is not just wrong — it’s almost treasonous.

After protests on social media and by far-right politicians — National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the arrests “disgraceful” — break-ins quickly followed. Rioters forced their way through the metal gates of Sde Teiman and remained there for several hours until police and soldiers drove them away; they also briefly overran the Beit Lid base in central Israel, where the arrested soldiers had been taken for questioning. About 1,200 protesters gathered outside Beit Lid with some chanting “Free the warriors.”

There is a clear irony in the mob’s insistence on “defending” IDF soldiers while they are actively fighting police officers and soldiers. And it is an irony that shows how hollow their motives are: the point is not to do what is best for Israel, but to create a state of anarchy in which only their ultranationalist ideology reigns supreme.

In their eyes, anyone who stands in their way becomes a de facto enemy or accomplice — regardless of whether they are a government official, a police officer, or an IDF soldier. At the heart of this behavior is the belief that even the law should not stand in the way of their goals.

That belief is why they felt justified in attacking Ynet reporter Ilana Curiel who needed the police to intervene and protect her. By documenting their actions, Curiel challenged the crowd with accountability, and that is a no-go.

“They pushed me, spat on me, called me a slut, the whore of the Arabs, a traitor,” she said. wrote on X“They threw my phone twice. I have tears in my eyes.”

Supporting the soldiers who risk their lives for Israel is noble. And I recognize that the trauma of October 7 and the current war can contribute to this extremism. But expecting Israel to turn a blind eye to abuse that violates its ethical code is absurd and fundamentally misunderstands what the country stands for.

The States foundation promise is one of freedom, justice and peace—a promise with deep roots in Jewish tradition.

When the rules of a government are not feared or respected, Rabbi Hanina is quoted as saying: in Pirkei Avot, “everyone would devour his neighbor alive.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, author of the canonical halachic code Arba’ah Tourismexplicitly writes that “if there were no law, all the mighty would conquer” and rule.

Supporters of Israel, like myself, vigorously defend the IDF as the most moral in the world, because we believe it is. That means we trust that when its soldiers are suspected of committing crimes, the army will respond appropriately. Israel’s adherence to its code of ethics affirms the integrity of its difficult work and upholds the justice of its state. As Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “even in times of anger the law applies to everyone.”

Imagine the alternate reality being advocated, one in which soldiers sexually abuse prisoners with impunity. Such crimes are antithetical to everything the Jewish state represents. To fight to ignore this horrific behavior is to denounce Israel and its soldiers as morally corrupt.

It is that struggle, not the arrests, that is morally problematic. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi described the break-ins as “serious behavior, against the law, bordering on anarchy, damaging to the IDF, the security of the state and the war effort.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who “strongly condemned” the riots and called for “immediate calming of tempers” — has for years made this radical claim possible by continually capitulating to the many demands of his cabinet, especially with In recent years judicial review.

There have long been warning signs that the consequences of his intervention were spiraling out of control — perhaps most obviously, the actions of activists who blocked efforts to bring aid into Gaza. They justified their May looting of a truck and attacks on troops arrived on the scene and decided that they, not the Israeli government, should determine policy. As opposition leader Yair Lapid noticed of the Knesset members who participated in the burglaries in Sde Teiman and Beit Lid: “They are done with democracy, they are done with the rule of law.”

On Tuesday, Gallant insisted Netanyahu will investigate Ben Gvir’s involvement in inciting riots outside IDF bases. Upholding the rule of law and demanding that the Israeli government do the same is urgently needed. Accountability is the only way forward.

We can no longer tolerate violent extremism. The State of Israel is a country of law and order, justice and responsibility. To imagine otherwise is to predict the downfall of the Jewish state.